1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to carpeting strips each comprised of a wear layer bonded against a compressible resilient backing material made of a latex foam and in particular to a coating apparatus for continuously coating latex foam on the wear layer to define the compressible backing material.
2. Prior Art Statement
It is known in the art to provide carpeting strips of the character mentioned and as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,092,450. However, to provide a commercially competitive carpeting strip of the character disclosed in this patent, it is necessary that such a strip be produced in a continuous manner with minimum scrap and with optimum utilization of production devices and techniques to assure continuous uninterrupted production.
In making such a carpeting strip it is known to continuously move a wear layer having a bottom surface in a rectilinear path and continuously coat the bottom surface with a thickness of latex foam during such continuous movement employing a coating apparatus comprising a coating knife supported in spaced relation at a fixed position above the bottom surface to define a controlled thickness of the latex foam. However, with such a coating knife it is necessary to stop the production process at periodic intervals, generally after operating about ten minutes to clean dried latex foam accumulated on the coating knife.